The Sapphire Pendant (21 page)

The vendor grinned. “So do I, though you do make a good dishwasher.”

He smiled and handed him the money. “Thanks.”

“Good day, and come back soon.”

Kenneth gave Jessie her lunch, then held out his arm. “Now let me take you to the table that I reserved for us.”

Jessie looped her arm through his, as if she had done this many times before. “Wow, you really must be important to reserve a table here. Some people are on the waiting list for six months.”

He sent her a sly glance. “I have my ways.” He led her to a clearing in the trees, where a fountain squirted water from two unicorns. He gestured to a wooden bench under a maple tree.

“Here we are.”

“The view is lovely,” Jessie said, taking a seat. She placed her drink and chips beside her, then unwrapped her hot dog. She took a bite and closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of the trees, the grass, the bun, and Kenneth’s musky cologne. She opened her eyes and stared at the fountain, suddenly feeling the need to cool off. “Hmm, you’re right. The food is delicious. I’ll have to tell all of my friends about this restaurant. Though I doubt we’d be able to afford it.”

Kenneth stared at her for a moment, his eyes sweeping her face as if seeing her in a new light. He turned to the fountain. “I wasn’t sure how you would respond.”

“Afraid that you might end up with ketchup on your head?”

“That did cross my mind, but somehow I knew.” He unwrapped his hot dog and frowned at it. “People always want the extravagant, showy things, things that don’t mean anything except to the people you’re trying to impress. But this means a lot to me. Grabbing something from
Le Chien
and coming here is one of my favorite things to do. You couldn’t get this fresh air cooped up in some fancy restaurant.”

Jessie took a sip of her drink. “I always thought it was the company rather than the place that was important.”

He paused with his hot dog halfway to his mouth. He shot her a stunned glance. “Is that a compliment?”

She thought for a moment, then laughed. “Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.” She patted herself on the back when Kenneth smiled at her. Compliments were definitely a charm requirement.

They finished their lunch in silence, not wanting to disturb the almost-magical harmony that rippled around them. They watched two couples walking their dogs, a group of kids playing soccer, and some people sunbathing on the concrete slab around the fountain. It was a perfect summer day, with the sun gently spreading its rays and the cool breeze from Catlon Bay playing the leaves like a musician would a violin.

Jessie didn’t realize she had dozed off until she woke up and found her head on Kenneth’s shoulder. He had a solid shoulder and wide enough to carry all the responsibilities he had inherited, yet soft enough to rest on. She checked the corner of her mouth, hoping that she hadn’t drooled on him for one reason or another. She hadn’t. She inhaled his scent. He smelled like ketchup, fresh leaves, and a masculine scent all his own so intoxicating that it made her head heavy. She soon realized the reason was that his head was resting on hers. She sat up, waking him up.

“Sorry about that,” she said.

He ran a tired hand down his face. “No need to apologize. Neither of us slept very well last night.” He blinked at his watch. “I’d better get back to work.”

She smiled wistfully, not wanting the time to end, not wanting him to leave her. She shyly took his hand, and he curled his fingers around hers. “Thanks for lunch,” she said.

“You’re welcome.” He didn’t move from where he was sitting. She didn’t move either.

He nudged her. “See those two squirrels by the tree? Let’s see if I can call them.” He made a high-pitched squeak between his teeth. The two squirrels stopped and stood on their hind legs, listening. He made the sound again, and they came towards them, as if greeting old friends. Kenneth reached in his pocket, pulled out some nuts, and tossed them to the squirrels.

Jessie laughed. “You still carry nuts in your pockets?”

A squirrel jumped up next to him. Kenneth gave him a nut. “A bad habit of mine, I guess.”

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll bite you?”

“They’ve never bitten me. We’re old friends.” A secretive smile appeared on his face. “When I was a kid, I used to—” He suddenly stopped. He couldn’t share his past. He liked Jasmine, but he couldn’t trust her. He couldn’t trust anyone. Everybody thought he was Mr. Perfect, and that was the image he had fought to maintain. He had to, since he had nothing else. “Never mind. We’d better go.” He got up, tossed the rest of the nuts on the ground, and walked toward the street.

Jessie followed, wondering why he had suddenly wanted to leave. “Are you okay?”

He halted so abruptly that she crashed into him. It was like hitting a brick wall, and it took her a few moments to reorient herself. He turned to look at her and then glanced at something in the distance. He frowned.

Jessie glanced in the same direction, but only saw a group of kids. “What is it?”

“They won’t let him play,” he said, watching a group of children dismiss another child from their group. The child held a soccer ball under his arm. “Excuse me for a minute.”

Kenneth jogged towards the boy. He tapped the boy on the shoulder and asked him some questions. The boy only nodded. Kenneth pointed to himself and Jessie. The boy at first looked suspicious, then smiled.

Kenneth came back over to her. “I need you to do me a favor—”

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

Kenneth smiled wickedly. “You know, that’s a dangerous practice.”

“What?”

“Saying yes to a man when you don’t even know what he wants.”

“I know what you want.”

He quirked a brow. “You do?”

She ignored the teasing tone. “You want me to be referee.”

He tweaked her chin. “I like a woman who can read my mind.”

She tweaked his chin. “I know.”

He took off his jacket, dropped it on her head, and went to the boy. Jessie took the coat off her head and hugged it close to her.
Damn, damn, damn
. She really liked him. She enjoyed having Kenneth as a friend. It wouldn’t stay this way—it couldn’t—but she would treasure it for now. She wondered if Gran Sonya had felt the same conflict about the German she had seduced. Had there been any regrets? Any heartache? She shook her head. She didn’t wish to dwell on it. There was no turning back this deep in the game. She swung the coat over her shoulder and approached the pair.

In the distance, Tracy watched her, then raced to her car.

* * *

“What do you mean you saw Kenneth and Jessie in the park together?” Deborah stared at Tracy, shocked. “Get off of me,” she told the seamstress pinning her dress. The woman took her pins and hurried away.

Tracy kept her voice low, not wanting to draw attention from other customers. “I was taking a walk around the fountain and I saw them,” Tracy said. “They seemed really cozy. Her charm seems to be working.”

“You must be wrong. You saw him with someone else.”

“It was definitely Jessie. I could recognize that wispy hair anywhere.”

Deborah folded her arms and began to pace. “What was she wearing?”

“A regular blouse and jeans.”

Deborah gathered the billowing skirt of her dress and sat on the platform. “It’s impossible. How could that plain little…” She looked up at Tracy and narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure–?”

“Positive.”

Deborah ran her fingers through her hair, her mind racing. She could not allow plain Jessie Clifton to upstage her. There was no way she—Deborah Elizabeth Wester—could lose. How could she tell her dear Aunt Rhonda—the aunt she hoped would leave her a hefty inheritance upon the unfortunate event of her death—that she had lost the Sapphire Pendant in a bet with one of the crazy Cliftons? It would be so humiliating. She had to think of something.

At that moment Stephanie Radson came into the store. Deborah looked at the woman with growing interest. She’d been to a few of her parties, but they were far from close. Fortunately, that wasn’t essential to making her plan work. Nobody could say Stephanie was as pretty as her sister, but she had all the qualifications (education, family connections) to be a catch for the right man. Besides, Stephanie always seemed to be at Kenneth’s side for business; why not for pleasure as well?

Deborah raised her voice a notch, just enough so Stephanie could hear, but not enough to be gauche. “Thank you for telling me about Kenneth Preston, Tracy. It’s so nice to know what he’s been up to.” As she had hoped, Stephanie tilted her head in their direction.

“Why are you talking so loud?” Tracy whispered.

She stood, smoothing out the skirt of her gown. “I mean, if Jessie can convince Kenneth to take her to the Hampton Charity Ball, then she wins the bet and the pendant. That’s only fair. There’s nothing I can do. He’s just a pawn in our little game.”

The door chime rang.

Deborah turned to the entrance and smiled with triumph. Stephanie had gone. She had succeeded in leveling the playing field.

Chapter 16

“Daniel, this is my friend, Jasmine,” Kenneth said, rolling up the cuffs of his sleeves. Jessie began to correct him, but decided to let it pass. “You can call her Jas for short,” he continued.

Daniel smiled, lighting up his chubby face. His round, gray glasses framed eyes the color of molasses and stood out against his pecan skin.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, his voice higher than she’d expected. She supposed his large build disguised the fact that he was probably a preteen.

After introductions, the game was underway. At first, Kenneth was lenient with the boy, but he soon discovered that in spite of his size, Daniel was a good player. While Jessie was watching, two girls came up to her.

“Can we play?” one asked.

Jessie glanced at Daniel and Kenneth, then shrugged. “Why not?” She turned and waved her arms to get their attention. “Hey, guys! We have new players.”

“Let them come,” Kenneth said. “Daniel and I can take them.”

Soon more kids started to come and ask if they could play. Before they knew it, Jessie and Kenneth were organizing twelve kids of various ages and sizes into two different teams. One kid brought a football, so tag football was born. An older kid offered to referee, giving Jessie the opportunity to play. To even the playing field, Kenneth and Jessie played on different sides.

At one point, Jessie got a hold of the ball and was close to making a goal when Kenneth tackled her to the ground.

“Hey, this is not tackle football,” Jessie said, trying to push him off her.

“Oh, it isn’t?” He wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek. “Sorry, forgot about that.”

Naturally, she had to seek revenge for such forgetfulness. While he was running to catch a toss, she stuck her foot out and sent him flying forward. He looked up at her and grinned, his eyes bright. All he said was “Touché.”

Jessie’s team won, and soon the sound of the ice cream truck caught everyone’s attention.

“Ice cream for everyone!” Jessie announced. “It’s on us.” She patted Kenneth on the back and mouthed,
Meaning you
.

All the kids cheered and ran towards the white truck covered with pictures of summer treats.

“Still up to your tricks,” Kenneth said, walking towards the truck and the crowd of kids.

“I knew you would offer anyway.”

He took out his wallet and counted the bills. His spirits dampened slightly. Of course she knew. He was Mr. Dull, Mr. Nice, Mr. Perfect. “I’m predictable.”

“No, I can read your mind.”

He stopped and stared at her. “What am I thinking right now?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “You’re thinking, ‘I want to buy Jessie a Firecracker Popsicle.’” She opened one eye for confirmation.

He grinned. “Not even close.” He jogged towards the ice cream truck and created order amongst the kids, who were eager to get their requests heard. He looked like a troop leader, except he didn’t seem frazzled or impatient. He made sure that every kid was serviced, remembering their names and their orders. He accepted their thanks as they walked away.

When he returned to Jessie, he found her in an alcove surrounded by bushes. She sat under a large oak tree, enjoying its shade. He handed her the Firecracker, then stretched out next to her and rested on his elbow. He watched a cardinal dart through the sky and the clouds floating past with their white sails flying.

“You’re dripping ice cream down your arm,” she said.

He looked down and saw white drops falling from the bottom of his cone.

She handed him a handkerchief.

He frowned at it. “What is this?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what it is. Didn’t your mother make you to carry one around?”

He wiped his arm. “Yes, I just didn’t expect you to have one.” He sucked the bottom of his cone, then quickly finished it. “That was good.”

“Mine was better.”

“At least my lips aren’t blue.”

She made a face.

He rested his head back, closing his eyes as the sunlight fell through the trees. It scattered across the ground like diamonds. Jessie stared at him, the arrogant slope of his nose, the feathering of dark, curling lashes against his cheeks. He looked beautiful, taking the simple pleasure of lying on the park lawn. She wondered why he didn’t always look like this, why there always seemed to be a shield between him and the rest of the world. No matter how genuine the smile, he seemed far away, but here the real Kenneth seemed to slip through the mask. Why did he feel the need to pretend?